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THE
DIFFERENCE
WE MAKE
Building a better future for all West Australians
WACOSS Pre-Budget Submission
For the WA State Budget 2015–16
Prepared for the WA State Government
October 2014
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ABOUT THE WA COUNCIL
OF SOCIAL SERVICE
The Western Australian Council of Social Service (the Council), is the
leading peak organisation for the community services sector, representing
approximately three hundred members and affiliates, and working to support
all the community organisations across WA involved in the provision of services
to our community. We speak with and for, all the Western Australians who
regularly access community services each year, whose voice and interests need
to be brought to the attention of government, decision makers, media, business
and the wider community.
Research tells us that poverty in our State is growing
and affects more than 200,000 Western Australians.
Sometimes that poverty co-exists with other forms
of vulnerability or disadvantage – but not everyone
experiencing hardship is poor, and living on lowincomes does not necessitate people being vulnerable
or weak. Collectively, the not-for-profit community
services sector supports the social wellbeing of over
half a million Western Australians each year.
The Council is committed to respecting the strength
and aspirations inherent in everyone, and working
to maximise the choice, control and independence
that people have in their own lives. Whatever
challenges they face, we recognise their capacity for
resilience and recovery in all its forms. The Council
works to strengthen the capacity of individuals,
communities and organisations in the community
services sector by providing policy, research,
training and sector development activities.
The Council is part of a national network
consisting of the Australian Council of Social
Service (ACOSS) and state and territory Councils of
Social Service. Our national coverage strengthens
our capacity to represent state interests.
CONTACT
For more information about this Pre-Budget
Submission or to pursue further development
of any of the strategies and ideas in this report,
please contact Chris Twomey on (08) 9420 7222
or email [email protected].
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERSHIP
WACOSS acknowledges that we work across the lands of
the Indigenous Peoples of Western Australia and respects
the continuing cultural connections and Traditional Owners
of this country.
Western Australian Council of Social Service
City West Lotteries House
2 Delhi Street
West Perth WA 6005
Telephone: (08) 9420 7222
Freecall: 1300 658 816
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @WACOSS
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FOREWORD ...................................................................................................................................... 4
1.
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 5
2.
OUR ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................................ 6
1.
The State Budget vision ......................................................................................................... 6
2.
Building on the Partnership Forum reforms .......................................................................... 7
3.
The impact of federal reforms ............................................................................................... 8
4.
Better coordination of local and regional services ................................................................ 9
3.
SUMMARY OF BUDGET ASKS ................................................................................................. 11
4.
HOUSING: THE UNDERPINNING FOUNDATION ...................................................................... 12
4.1 A stronger social housing system ......................................................................................... 13
4.2 An integrated homelessness service system ....................................................................... 15
5.
IMPROVING LIFE OUTCOMES ................................................................................................. 16
5.1 Increased community sector delivery of out of home care services .................................. 17
5.2 Build the capacity of Aboriginal-controlled organisations to
support children & families at risk ....................................................................................... 18
5.3 Holistic, caseworker-based support for disengaged young people .................................... 19
5.4 Using an improved understanding of offending behaviour to
redirect government spending ............................................................................................ 20
6.
BUILDING FINANCIAL RESILIENCE ........................................................................................... 21
6.1 Integrating financial hardship support ................................................................................. 21
6.2 Review & reform of state concessions ................................................................................. 22
6.3 The introduction of a concessional electricity tariff ............................................................ 23
6.4 Consumer representation & research in our energy and water markets ............................ 24
7.
BUILDING EFFECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEMS ................................................................................. 25
7.1 Universal children’s services ................................................................................................ 27
7.2 Expansion of Family Support Networks ............................................................................... 28
7.3 Resource the Mental Health & Alcohol and Other Drug 10-year Services Plan ................... 29
7.4 Regional community sector networks ................................................................................. 30
8.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 31
The Western Australian Council of Social Service is pleased to present its annual Pre-Budget
Submission – The Difference We Can Make.
The Council’s 2015-16 Pre-Budget Submission is presented at a time of significant uncertainty about
the future of many community based services and programs funded by the State and Federal
Governments.
The past twelve months have seen significant reform to the tendering processes of the Federal
Government, as well as a reduction in spending levels, which is having a highly destabilising effect
on the community services sector.
While much of the motivation for these changes reflects an intention to improve community
outcomes and funding processes through streamlined and coordinated service models, the reality of
how it is currently playing out falls far short of this objective.
This presents significant challenges for the State Government and community service organisations
in WA. It will be critical to prevent destabilisation of services on the ground, ensure continuity of
support for individuals and families, and be proactive in planning a strategic response once the
outcomes of federal funding decisions become apparent.
The Council’s annual submission seeks to support the application of rational evidence and need
basis to State Government expenditure by outlining the priority needs of the community services
sector.
The Council advocates that any changes to service funding and program design should be targeted
to prioritise those with the greatest need and focus on measures that deliver measurable long-term
outcomes to our most disadvantaged and vulnerable. Decision making should be based on the
following principles: evidence-based decision making; an open and collaborative assessment
process; a timely and planned approach to any service changes to ensure smooth and responsible
transition so that vulnerable people do not fall through the cracks; and net growth in services
overall to meet demand and address growing population and need.
The Council’s submission outlines priority recommendations to enhance housing affordability as an
underlying foundation, to improve life outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged people and
families, to strengthen the financial resilience of those in hardship and to build effective services
systems across the state.
Brought together, our recommendations provide a sound basis for the difference we can make to
ensure that the Council’s vision for an inclusive, just and equitable society is realised.
Steve Joske CSC
President
Irina Cattalini
Chief Executive Officer
The Western Australian Council of Social Service annual Pre-Budget Submission provides a high level
analysis of the key priorities of the community services sector, which we are seeking to have
addressed by the WA Government through the State Budget.
While the Pre-Budget Submission is a stand-alone document setting out the key areas which the
community services sector is asking the WA Government to focus on in the forthcoming state
Budget, our choice of title deliberately sits it in the context of our ongoing work. Our conference,
held earlier this year, was themed to reflect The Difference We Make. In this Pre-Budget Submission,
we identify those important areas where we can improve the wellbeing of all West Australians, and
particularly make a difference to the most vulnerable.
As in previous years, the Council embarked on an extensive round of consultations to inform the
development of this Pre-Budget Submission. This process included submissions from members;
discussions with a range of peak bodies; face to face forums in Bunbury, metropolitan Perth,
Mandurah and Geraldton; and a number of issue- and sector-specific workshops to allow us to focus
our consultations on some more detailed discussions. This input from members around the state
complements the research and analysis undertaken by our own staff and other organisations.
In presenting the Pre-Budget Submission, we want to recognise that contribution, and at the same
time, acknowledge that it is not possible to incorporate all the valuable information we have
gathered into one submission. The Council urges the State Government to draw on the lived
experience of those represented by the community sector in its deliberations.
A number of overarching themes emerged through the consultations, each of which is considered in
detail with a specific section in the Pre-Budget Submission. These are:
1. Housing: The underpinning foundation
2. Improving life outcomes
3. Building financial resilience
4. Building effective service systems
In each section, we articulate the desired outcome for our community. While recognising that
addressing such systematic disadvantage will not happen in one budget cycle, it is important to set
out what we are aiming to achieve. After providing a policy context, our submission then identifies
specific areas where we can make a difference through the budget processes and provides costings
for them.
Throughout the text we have also provided some quotes from real life case studies from community
organisations and service users that provide some insight into the lived experience of disadvantaged
and vulnerable Western Australians and the services that support them.
This section outlines our current economic, social and political environment and provides a
contextual overview of some of the fundamental issues, changes and opportunities that are
impacting the community sector and society as a whole.
In this section we will briefly outline key issues and suggest process and policy improvements that
will assist the improvement of community outcomes in the following areas:
1. The State Budget vision
2. Building on the Partnership Forum reforms
3. The Impact of Federal reforms
4. Better coordination of local and regional services
While sound economic management is a critical focus for any State Budget, it should be about more
than the government’s credibility as good financial managers. A good budget is also about who we
are and what we do – it should embody our vision for the future and the kind of community we
want to create or maintain. The 2014-15 budget narrative was about how we respond as a
community to the slowing of a sustained resources boom, and framed as “a little pain for everyone”
to rein in expenditure. The Council was concerned that the pain was not shared equally, and those
on lower incomes saw a disproportionate impact as rising household fees and charges pushed up
their essential living costs. Many of the structural problems with growing expenditure and
increasingly uncertain revenue remain, setting the scene for another tight budget this year. It is in
this context that we want to focus our thinking about how we prioritise services and resources for
our most disadvantaged or vulnerable citizens, and how we progressively shift investment toward a
greater focus on prevention and early intervention.
Arguably any budget that truly contains a vision for the future of our community should address a
number of key issues – where we see the future place of our economy and community in meeting
the emerging challenges of building the cities of Asia; helping to feed the world by delivering quality
produce that trades on our environmental credentials; building on our strong science and tertiary
sectors to educate the future leaders of our region and invest in the development of high tech niche
industries with emerging regional partners; developing the skills and workforce for the growing
service economy; meeting the challenges of caring for an ageing population and rolling out the
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Over the last few years we have experienced a cumulative impact from an ongoing and often
divergent series of reforms to the funding and regulatory environments of community services at
the State and Federal levels. These ongoing changes both pose threats and open up new
opportunities as they alter our operating environment. There is a risk they may impact
disproportionately on small to medium sized organisations, that lack dedicated service redesign and
tendering capacity and struggle to stay abreast of regulatory reform. While a number of these
reforms have the potential to deliver better services in the longer term, they risk diverting resources
away from service delivery in the short term.
Our primary concern is that service procurement reforms should result in the delivery of more
efficient, effective and sustained outcomes for service users, independent of who is delivering those
services. Irrespective of whether or not we support the idea that fewer service contracts delivered
by larger providers may be more efficient or easier for government to manage, it is clear that if a
government wishes to effectively implement such a policy then the most appropriate and
sustainable way to do so is in consultation with the sector with timelines and support to enable
services to transition to the new environment. The approach taken to outcome-based service
procurement and the work underway on co-designing services in partnership in Western Australia
provides a better model of service reform, and we continue to advocate for the Commonwealth to
learn from this experience.
A key challenge is how we are to develop and sustain the skilled workforce capable of undertaking
the person-centred planning increasingly needed within aged care services and the NDIS during a
transition to individualised funding models. Many existing small to medium service providers lack
access to the necessary capital to transition easily from an up-front grant funding model to
individualised service payments in arrears. Maintaining our current skilled workforce is one issue,
addressing skill gaps to develop a future workforce capable of tackling complex needs and
comfortable in delivering collaborative wrap-around services across disciplinary boundaries, is
another. We need both a workforce training strategy that offers low-level entry points for those
with an aptitude for the caring professions, and a career development path that offers a sustainable
transition into longer term skilled work. We also need to consider how our existing industrial
relations system can be adapted to provide appropriate protection and support to workers in
increasingly individualised services with uncertain work hours.
The work that the WA public and community service sectors have undertaken in partnership on
outcome-based services during the last six years has established a firm foundation for us to build
on. At the same time, together we face the prospect of significant challenges to both the viability of
our service system and the budget bottom-line as a result of state budget pressures. These
pressures include diminishing and uncertain revenue, growing state debt and a high level of
investment in infrastructure, as well as the impacts of a wide-ranging federal reform agenda that is
likely to reduce service funding and shift more responsibility back to the state. It is important that
the work of the Partnership Forum is reflected in the investment decisions made through State
Budget processes.
The Council is committed to working with the public and community sectors to deliver the benefits
of the Partnership Forum reforms to the Western Australian community and believes our combined
efforts provide an example of national leadership on community service reform. There remain a
number of key challenges we need to tackle to ensure these reforms deliver on their potential, not
least of which is ensuring that we are measuring, documenting and communicating the benefits of
partnership, of outcome-based service design and delivery, and of service-user engagement and
person-centred approaches.
It is extremely important that we openly communicate and learn from what hasn’t worked or what
has got in the way of service reform or cultural change within organisations. We have learnt a lot
about the challenges involved in the procurement of outcome-based services, and independent
analysis of recent tendering processes has clearly shown the value of getting the consultation and
co-design processes right before entering into a competitive tender. The engagement of service
users (as well as service providers) in the co-design and co-evaluation of services is one area that
offers the potential to deliver more effective and responsive services, but we face significant
challenges in doing this well. There is a lot we can learn by better sharing experiences across
different programs, services and portfolios through the development of good practice guides.
The Council suggests that one of the biggest challenges to delivering on this reform agenda has to
do with how we define and measure meaningful outcomes at a cohort and population level. We
need to do this well to capitalise on the benefits of outcome-based contracting and service design.
The risk is if we allow each service or program to identify their own measures, only collect what data
are convenient or only report the data that look good, we will not be able to identify the critical
elements and precursors for success, align and integrate our efforts, and demonstrate the economic
benefits of improved service delivery.
Effective knowledge exchange should drive ongoing practices and service improvements. We need
to link up and make more effective use of existing agency databases and ensure that appropriately
de-identified data from publicly funded services are openly available. We also need to ensure the
use of common data protocols guided by overarching frameworks (for instance, the use of the AEDC
in early childhood development) before we can effectively identify meaningful population or cohort
outcomes across service and program areas. This will also require the alignment of existing
regional, Departmental and program reporting boundaries as discussed further below.
The Council is particularly concerned about the knock-on impacts of changes in federal social policy
and service procurement for both the demand for, and viability of, state services. Firstly, reductions
in the overall level of funding for federally funded services may increase the demand for existing
state funded services or put pressure on the state to fund emerging service gaps. Secondly, the
transfer or removal of federal funding from organisations delivering state services may undermine
their viability — by reducing economies of scale to increase the cost of service delivery and creating
gaps where services shut down, particularly in specialist or regional areas. Thirdly, there is the
prospect of the Commonwealth withdrawing from the delivery of services altogether in a number of
key areas (including health, education, housing and the funding of basic services in remote
Aboriginal communities) as a result of the reform process associated with the White Paper on
Federation. If and when this occurs the State will be faced with some tough decisions about how it
addresses the resulting service gaps. Finally, there are the knock-on impacts of changes to welfare
policy and programs on service demand through increasing financial hardship and interpersonal
stress.
Concerns about the potential and likely impacts on service sustainability and sector diversity of the
recent Federal Department of Social Security ‘broad-banding’ and the Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet Indigenous services tender processes dominated much of the discussion at our regional
and metropolitan consultations with services. The short tendering timeline combined with the lack
of consultation or advance notice undermined what could have been significant opportunities for
service reform. The move to longer contracting periods, the amalgamation of many smaller and
fragmentary programs into broader service streams, the scaling up of population and service
targets, and the increased scope for service innovation all offered significant potential for delivering
more efficient, integrated and responsive services — if only there had been time for service
providers to do the work needed take advantage of them.
The Council notes there are strong signals that the Federal Government is looking to return to a
narrower definition of its role and responsibilities under Section 54 of the Constitution – particularly
in relation to the areas of health, education and housing. It is important to note that this harks back
to a time when the States had a different revenue base, and so any moves by the Federal
Government to relinquish responsibility for funding services in these areas will need to be matched
by significant tax reform or other revenue measures. The Australian Council of Social Service
(ACOSS) together with the State and Territory Councils are advocating strongly that the Federal
reform processes concerning federation and taxation ensure there is an adequate and sustainable
revenue base for the delivery of community services.
One of our largest economic challenges is addressing the vertical fiscal imbalance in revenue versus
service expenditure between the Commonwealth and the States. Rather than continuing to cut
service delivery at the Federal level, we should be restoring revenues to sustainable (pre-GFC) levels
to counter the effects of successive ill-conceived tax cuts in recent history. With the Federal
government also reducing service funding across all areas of its responsibility, there is a significant
risk that States will be forced to make decisions about how they will respond to reduced service
funding, where they may need to step in to fill service gaps, or how they will respond to increasing
demand for existing services.
The Council is advocating that the WA Government should engage in partnership with the
community services sector to establish principles and practices for responding to changing service
funding or need, including that driven by federal funding decisions. Work is already underway
within the Partnership Forum to undertake scenario planning in key service delivery areas that
should provide a firm foundation on which to build. The state is likely to be faced with some tough
decisions about how it prioritises limited resources to achieve the best outcomes for disadvantaged
and vulnerable people and the wider community. This presents both risk and opportunity. There is
significant risk that an ad hoc and piecemeal approach may lead to poorer outcomes for service
users and significant gaps in our service system, while resulting in growing demands on state
revenue. There is also an opportunity to build on the strengths of the Delivering Community Services
in Partnership policy and take an outcome-based, whole-of-system approach to redesigning the
service system together.
There is an emerging opportunity for community services to engage more directly with local
government to deliver more effective place-based solutions tackling the needs of specific vulnerable
cohorts. Local governments are currently preparing strategic community plans that should integrate
asset, service and financial plans to drive local resource capabilities and investment into the future.
Community services need to engage and contribute their local knowledge and frontline experience
to ensure effective social planning at the local level. Currently local government capacity and
engagement in social planning and service delivery is very patchy. The community sector can
support LGAs to understand, map and prioritise social needs while local governments can support
local services by providing service information and referral through LGA offices, libraries and
newsletters, providing access to free or reduced rent premises for service delivery and supporting
the development of service hubs.
One of the significant challenges facing Western Australia is the existing misalignment of regional
and program boundaries across different State and Federal agencies. The variation between
regional boundaries is a barrier to the ability of organisations to work together in a coordinated
manner. Lack of consistency between local government and departmental boundaries complicates
the assignment of resources. It is also the biggest single barrier to measuring population and cohort
outcomes, to planning services and infrastructure, and arguably to our ability to deliver on the
Economic Audit Committee’s partnership reforms.
Aligning departmental boundaries was one of the initiatives included in A Fairer Victoria, released
by the Victorian Government in 2005. A particular benefit of the alignment of departmental regional
boundaries was consistent use by all levels of government, but particularly state and local
governments, of similar local area data in service planning.
Significant work is currently underway in WA on the development of Regional Blueprints by the
Regional Development Commissions that will provide the basis for investment in regional
infrastructure and services until 2050. These blueprints will be greatly enhanced if there is increased
participation of local and regional community services in social planning, and if all agency and
service reporting are aligned to common boundaries and data protocols.
On that basis, we recommend that all State Government Departments and Agencies align their
program and reporting boundaries to match the boundaries used in the Regional Blueprints.
The Western Australian Government currently supports a range of community based facilities
through the provision of buildings and/or funding of administration or coordination functions
throughout WA, and particularly in in regional areas. However, these are spread across different
departments and in different programs, including the Community Resource Centres, the Family
Centres, the Volunteer Resource Centres and the Visitors Centres, to name just a few.
Supporting the use of community buildings to deliver broad ranging community services — by acting
as a central referral centre for community, and provide consulting rooms or small function areas for
private consultations or the delivery of other social programs — would be of great benefit to
regional communities. Such a coordinated approach would also provide the opportunity to more
effectively identify where the existing service gaps are, particularly in rapidly developing areas
within the outer metropolitan region.
1.
Develop a social housing growth plan that includes clear capital targets
for community and public housing, with timelines for implementation.
$162 million
14
Develop a two stream approach to the social housing wait list which
includes wrap-around support services to provide holistic support for
families and individuals transitioning out of the social housing system.
$38 million
14
2.
Implement an integrated homeless service and support system to address
gaps, support transitions and sustain outcomes.
$20 million
15
1.
Growth in the proportion of out of home care services delivered by
community-based organisations by 10 percent, and build the capacity of
Aboriginal community controlled services to be a bigger part of this
service delivery.
Increase investment in Aboriginal community-controlled intensive family
support services to target and sustain prevention and early intervention
services.
$30 million
17
$17.8 million
18
2.
3.
Provide a holistic, caseworker-based model of support for young people
who are at-risk of disengaging from education and work.
$7.5 million
19
4.
Establish a comprehensive, ongoing audit of the characteristics of adult
and juvenile offenders in order to inform and redirect service delivery.
$16 million
20
1.
Extend an innovative network model across financial management
services to develop shared assessment frameworks and enhance referral.
$1 million
22
$1.5 million
22
$0 net
23
$31 million
24
$1.5 million
24
$1.3 million
27
$4 million
28
To be
determined
29
Dedicate funding for the construction and operation of an Aboriginalspecific residential AOD rehabilitation service in the South West region.
$9 million
29
Support regional community sector networks to ensure social planning is
a part of the Regional Blueprints and facilitate service collaboration that
improves service delivery.
$5 million
30
Increase availability of financial counselling services.
2.
Undertake a public review of all state concessions to make more effective
use of existing investment to better target those most in need.
3.
Introduce a new 15 percent concessional energy tariff to provide
proportional assistance to those households whose higher essential
energy needs put them at high risk of utility hardship.
Introduce a levy on electricity, gas and water distributors and retailers to
fund consumer research and representation on behalf of residential and
small business consumers in Western Australia.
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Develop a state-wide universal children’s services plan by amalgamating
existing regional children’s plans, new metropolitan service plans and the
proposed framework of education based initiatives.
Expand Family Support Networks throughout WA to provide integrated
secondary family support services that improve outcomes and prevent
the need for tertiary child protection intervention.
Adequately resource the 10 Year Mental Health and Alcohol and Other
Drug Services Plan to improve life outcomes for those in need of support.
Housing is a fundamental human necessity.
Safe, secure, appropriate and affordable
housing is the integral foundation for achieving
better life outcomes for all. Without safe and
secure housing, opportunities for a better life
that maximise our social and economic
potential are limited. The provision of housing
is a critical social service that delivers significant social benefits. Housing is the biggest pre-cursor for
economic participation: without housing, securing education and employment become secondary to
the overwhelming need for shelter.
Housing is not considered a part of the nation’s infrastructure agenda, and its integral connection to
economic productivity is too often overlooked. As a result of this broader disconnect, many of the
1
policies pursued by Australian Governments in the name of housing affordability serve to increase
2
demand for housing, while failing to tackle the regulatory and cost barriers to housing supply.
These housing market failures need to be addressed if we wish to increase our national productivity.
3
Western Australians at the lower end of the income spectrum are being consistently priced out of
the housing market. Demand for affordable housing among this income cohort continues to outstrip
supply, and the cost of housing continues to rise much faster than incomes for this segment of our
community. Unfortunately the affordable housing that is available is largely located on the urban
fringe, where unemployment is high and public transport is inadequate, making travelling to and
from the city expensive and time consuming.
In recent years WA’s rapid population growth has not been matched by a commensurate growth in
housing construction. This inadequate supply of dwellings has resulted in a hike in house prices that
have had a disproportionate impact on low income Western Australians.
In its April 2014 report, the Housing Industry Forecasting Group (HIFG) forecast that WA’s
residential building industry will commence construction of only 25,000 new properties in the
4
2014/2015 financial year — a fall of seven percent on 2013-14. The HIFG states:
Despite improvements to housing affordability with lower interest rates and rising
incomes, Western Australian households on low or moderate incomes continue to
5
face unaffordable private sector rents and an inability to access home ownership.
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report, Housing Affordability: The real costs of housing in
6
WA found a significant percentage of Western Australians are suffering from rental stress,
particularly lone parent families and elderly renters (42 percent of lone-parent families pay more
than 30 percent of their income on rent and 13 percent are paying more than 50 percent). The
report concluded the State’s private rental sector is unable to deliver a secure and affordable supply
7
of housing to those on lower incomes who are unable to access social housing or home ownership.
1
Such as the first home buyers grants and concessions.
Kirchner, S. (2014) Eight Housing Affordability Myths, The Centre for Independent Studies.
3
st
nd
Such as those in the 1 and 2 income quintiles —$346-$581/week. Source: ABS (2013) Equivalised
Disposable Household Income 2011-12.
4
Housing Industry Forecasting Group (2014, April) Update.
5
Ibid.
6
Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (2014, April), Housing Affordability – The real costs of housing in WA,
Focus on Western Australia Report Series, No 2.
7
Housing Industry Forecasting Group (2014, April) Update, p.16.
2
These statistics highlight the fact that we need a more effective housing support services system
that provides safe, secure, appropriate and affordable housing options for all Western Australians to
maximise social and economic participation within our community.
A stronger social housing system requires a focus on the provision of housing product and
structured support options to ensure social housing tenants are accessing the best services to meet
their current and future needs.
Over the last decade the median rental price in Perth has jumped from 35 percent to 75 percent of
weekly income for someone on the minimum wage. Anglicare WA’s annual Rental Affordability
Snapshot, published in April 2014, also found that less than one percent of rentals in Perth were
8
appropriate and affordable for people on benefits and pensions, and only three percent were
appropriate and affordable for families on a minimum wage.
The lack of affordable rental properties is limiting the housing options for those wishing to transition
out of social housing or crisis accommodation, resulting in increasing pressure on the public and
community housing systems, and an increasing prevalence of homelessness. The Department of
9
Housing’s social housing waitlist has increased more than 80 percent in the last decade. There are
20,294 applicants or 43,070 people on the social housing waitlist, with each applicant waiting, on
10
average, 144 weeks or 1,007 days.
The Council recommends the development of a stronger social housing system by investing in social
housing growth.
The Council continues to support the State Affordable Housing
Strategy (SAHS) as the overarching blueprint for the provision
of affordable housing opportunities in WA. However, growth in
the total number of public and community housing dwellings is
urgently needed to meet demand and address the critical
shortfalls in supply. The Council is calling for a social housing
growth plan that includes clear, differentiated targets and
timelines to increase the number of public and community
housing dwellings.
A key challenge identified in the SAHS was the ability to address
blockages in the housing continuum to encourage the transition of households towards options
11
better suited to their needs and circumstances. During our Pre-Budget Submission consultations,
our members identified that it was getting increasingly difficult to move clients out of crisis and
transitional accommodation to social housing or affordable rental properties.
A social housing growth plan, that includes detailed implementation pathways, actions, timelines
and targets for growth, will increase the housing options available to those transitioning out of crisis
accommodation by increasing the overall supply of social housing in WA.
In order to ensure that social housing is tailored to the distinct and diverse needs of our community,
the Council encourages the setting of targets to expand the number of specialist growth providers
— including providers delivering housing services to seniors, people with disabilities, mental health
8
Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot April 2014.
Community Housing Coalition WA (2014) Video: Homelessness: we can't afford to ignore it.
10
Ibid.
11
Affordable Housing Strategy 2010-2020 Opening Doors to Affordable Housing, p.17.
9
needs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Expanding the number of specialist growth
providers will ensure viable housing options exist for all categories of need.
Investing in the construction of social housing stock not only supports this critical social outcome,
but also has a multiplying effect for the economy.
For every $1 of construction activity, around $1.30 in total turnover is generated
for the economy…This includes direct effects such as on employment, and industry
turnover; and indirect effects, driven by additional spending from the construction
industry, construction industry employees and business that supply the
12
construction industry.
This cost/benefit ratio clearly demonstrates that investing in social housing construction has both
social and economic benefits for the whole community.
ASK
Develop a social housing growth plan that includes clear capital targets for community
and public housing, with timelines for implementation. Cost: $162 million
The Council encourages the Department of Housing to re-evaluate the current delivery and support
mechanisms for social housing to ensure the system provides targeted, sustainable and appropriate
housing support services, not just the property.
’
’
The Council proposes a two stream approach for those on the
social housing wait list that differentiates between individuals
who require transitory housing support options and those for
whom social housing is a longer term destination. This
approach would include a non-permanent lease arrangement
for those who require social housing services for a shorter
period of time. Those who self-nominate for inclusion in this
cohort could be offered a property sooner. Significant phased
support services, such as links to employment pathways, family
support services, financial counselling or other support
identified through a case management process, would be
“wrapped around” these tenants to support them to move
through social housing.
This approach would be integrated with the existing Rental Pathway Scheme, with assistance to find
a suitable property, bond assistance and ongoing support requirements for the first two years after
transitioning out of social housing. The Council recommends that these support services be offered
by community housing providers who can provide better links to community services, case
management practices, and flexibility and diversity of services tailored to improving outcomes.
While this approach will be more cost intensive in the short term, it will provide holistic support for
families and individuals, and would increase the turnover of social housing tenants, which will free
up stock and broaden the reach of the social housing system.
ASK
Develop a two stream approach to the social housing wait list which includes wraparound support services to provide holistic support for families and individuals
transitioning out of the social housing system. Cost: $38 million
12
KPMG (2012) Housing Minister’s Advisory Committee: Social Housing Initiative Review, p.17.
Supporting the homeless isn’t just the right or moral thing to do; it’s the smart
13
thing to do because it saves money.
In WA, 9,595 people are experiencing homelessness on any given night. Of these, 25 percent are
children; 34 percent are experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence or family breakdown;
14
and 28 percent are homeless because they cannot afford suitable, safe accommodation. Analysis
by Professor Paul Flatau identified that:
…the (resulting) costs [of homelessness] incurred by the community in health and
justice services were substantially greater than the costs of providing programs
15
for the homeless.
16
It costs the WA community, on average, an additional $29,450 per annum to provide services
(health, welfare, justice etc.) to a person who is homeless for one year. This equates to $566 per
week — a cost even higher than the Perth median rental price ($450 in the June 2014 quarter).
These figures alone suggest that there are more effective ways to use tax payer funds.
Homelessness services in WA are consistently operating at full capacity and in 2012-13 had to turn
17
away over 16,700 requests for services. The capacity of these services to meet this demand is
further limited by their ability to secure social housing or affordable rental properties to transition
successful clients. Additional crisis accommodation beds, specifically tailored to suit the needs of
specific cohorts of the most vulnerable, (such as at risk older women, or women with children) are
critical as a starting point for the journey out of homelessness.
A truly integrated homelessness service system needs to be the backbone of our response to this
complex issue. Such a system needs to be considered in the broader context of housing policy
design and social services, in order to provide a continuum of services — from prevention, through
to crisis and transitional accommodation options, and on to supported, stable housing options. At a
minimum, we call on Treasury to include an appropriation for WA’s share of the future of the
National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) in the 2015-16 State Budget, to include
$15 million services funding and $5 million capital funding.
Implement an integrated homeless service and support system to address gaps, support
transitions and sustain outcomes. Cost: $20 million
13
Martin, W. (2014) The Cost of Homelessness – A Legal Perspective, Speech to the Homeless Persons Week
Conference 2014 by the Honourable Wayne Martin AC, Chief Justice of Western Australia.
14
Homelessness Australia (2014) Homelessness in Western Australia.
15
Flatau, P., Zaretzky, K., Brady, M., Haigh, Y. & Martin, R. (2008) The cost-effectiveness of homelessness
programs: a first assessment (Volume 1 – main report), p.146. The estimated health costs were almost three
times higher (ibid, p 143).
16
or $706,240 if they are homeless over their lifetime - Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (2013)
The Cost of Homelessness and the Net Benefit of Homelessness Programs: A National Study.
17
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2013) Specialist homelessness services 2012-13, WA
supplementary tables. This report found the daily average of unmet requests for assistance (from specialist
homeless services) was 64.4. Our calculation of 16,700 requests for service over the course of 2012/13
conservatively assumes a 5-day working week for services.
ASK
While the Council and our community sector
member organisations advocate for social
change that improves the wellbeing of all
Western Australians, we place a particular
priority on responding to the needs of
disadvantaged and vulnerable community
members.
Our most vulnerable are often faced with a complex web of intersecting issues including:
unemployment; poor education and health outcomes; drug and alcohol abuse; homelessness or
inadequate housing conditions; offending behaviour and incarceration; family breakdown, including
family and domestic violence and interactions with the child protection system; and social isolation.
These complexities are often most apparent when children are involved. As the Department for
Child Protection and Family Support’s 2013-14 Annual Report notes:
Family and domestic violence is now recognised as one of the most common
reasons for notification to statutory child protection services…. It is strongly
associated with and linked to a number of other serious social issues including
other forms of child abuse, homelessness, mental health issues, poverty, and drug
18
and alcohol misuse.
The culmination of vulnerabilities, and State and Federal Government service funding models
(which typically do not reflect these complexities) often make it challenging for community sector
providers to deliver services that are able to address people’s needs in a holistic manner and
achieve optimal long term outcomes.
’
Complexities affecting the lives of vulnerable people also present,
and accumulate over time. They can result in poor health, low selfesteem and social isolation and can have significant
intergenerational effects for children growing up in disadvantaged
households.
Aboriginal people are one of the most vulnerable groups within the
Western Australian community, as reflected in the existence of
19
initiatives such as the national Closing the Gap, as well as
20
indicators including the percentage of children in the child protection system (50.6 percent); the
percentage of adults in prison (39.6 percent) and percentage of juveniles in detention (77.2
21
percent).
In considering responses to Aboriginal disadvantage in WA, the Council is pleased to draw attention
to an important piece of work currently underway within the Northern Territory. The Northern
Territory Council of Social Service (NTCOSS) has been working collaboratively with both local and
22
23
national peak organisations to develop a set of principles to guide partnership-centred service
18
Department for Child Protection and Family Support (2014) 2013-14 Annual Report, p.1.
Council of Australian Governments (no date) Closing the Gap in Indigenous Disadvantage.
20
Department for Child Protection and Family Support (2014) 2013-14 Annual Report, p.17.
21
Department of Corrective Services (2014, June 26) Weekly Offender Statistics (WOS) Report.
22
Organisations involved in this partnership include NTCOSS, Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT (APONT), Strong
Aboriginal Families Together (SAFT), the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and the Australian
Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
19
delivery in Aboriginal communities. This approach recognises the strong aspirations of Aboriginal
community controlled organisations to work with (and secure the support of) non-Aboriginal NGOs
to strengthen and rebuild an Aboriginal controlled service sector. It is about putting Aboriginal
people back in the driver’s seat.
The objective of building the number, capacity and resources of Aboriginal community controlled
services can, and should, be similarly considered for application across the spectrum of community
services in Western Australia.
The Council strongly supports the current campaign led by the Alliance for Children at Risk, calling
24
for greater community sector involvement in the provision of out of home care services. Over the
last 15 years, the proportion of care places allocated to the community sector has declined from
about 25 percent to just over 10 percent. In other states, the community sector provides most or
25
nearly all places and our role is being increased. The Alliance for Children at Risk has
recommended that there be an increase to 50 percent of Out of Home Care places (including kinship
care) provided by non-government organisations in five years. Increasing the capacity by 10 percent
in this budget is a realistic target.
Increasing community sector service delivery provides a range of benefits that improve life
outcomes for children in care, or at risk of being taken into care, and their families. Community
service organisations provide a more diverse range of care styles and options, thus better matching
individual client needs. Community sector participation encourages innovation and creative
development of care options as well as better linkages with other support services. Providing for
children in care is the responsibility of the whole community, not simply a government task, and so
26
greater community sector involvement is an essential part of a whole of community response.
There are significant benefits to building partnership-centred approaches to service delivery
through partnerships with Aboriginal community controlled organisations. Given the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people within the WA child protection system
(concurrent with the need to grow the proportion of community sector-provided services), priority
needs to be given to initiatives that build the capacity of Aboriginal community controlled out of
home care service providers.
Growth in the proportion of out of home care services delivered by community-based
organisations by 10 percent, and build the capacity of Aboriginal community controlled
services to be a bigger part of this service delivery. Cost: $30 million
23
These principles involve non-Aboriginal organisations recognising existing capacity and particular strengths of
Aboriginal organisations, and include a) identifying how they can contribute to further developing this capacity;
b) researching existing Aboriginal service providers and development agencies before applying for service
delivery contracts or prior to considering community development projects; and c) not directly competing with
the Aboriginal service providers, but rather seeking to develop partnerships where appropriate.
24
Alliance for Children at Risk (2014) Greater not-for-profit involvement in care services.
25
Ibid.
26
For a longer list of benefits from NFP involvement in care services, refer to: Alliance for Children at Risk
(2014) Greater not-for-profit involvement in care services.
ASK
While the Council acknowledges that it is necessary (and appropriate) for the Department for Child
Protection and Family Support to remove children from abusive situations and protect them from
further abuse, there is an even greater obligation to prevent abuse and neglect from occurring in
27
the first place through the provision of support to family units).
In June 2014, the Council partnered with SNAICC (the Secretariat for National Aboriginal and
28
Islander Child Care) and Yorganop to hold the Family Matters: Kids safe in culture, not in care
29
forum in Perth. SNAICC’s Family Matters work is focused on addressing the over-representation of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care. At the forum, which was attended
by government and non-government service providers and community members, there was
significant discussion around the need for innovative prevention and early intervention services that
are trauma-informed, outcome-focussed and evidence-based. Emphasis was also placed on the
need for services to be strengths-based, led by local Aboriginal people and using local Aboriginal
knowledge. This is a natural opportunity to build the capacity of local Aboriginal organisations to
deliver services.
The Council calls for greater investment in Aboriginal community controlled intensive family support
services to target and sustain prevention and early intervention services and support for families
and children.
ASK
Increase investment in Aboriginal community-controlled intensive family support services
to target and sustain prevention and early intervention services. Cost: $17.8 million
27
O'Donnell, M., Scott, D., & Stanley, F. (2008, August) Child abuse and neglect - is it time for a public health
approach?, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 32(4), p.325-330.
28
Yorganop is the only Aboriginal service to provide foster care places in WA.
29
For more on the Family Matters campaign, visit: SNAICC (2014) Family Matters.
The community sector is concerned about the proliferation of State and Federal Government
decisions which are already having (or may have) negative impacts on vulnerable young people in
our community. One such decision is the discontinuation of funding for the highly effective Youth
Connections program. With this decision, 70 staff across WA will no longer be funded to provide
holistic, casework-based support for approximately
1500 young people who are at-risk of disengaging
from education and work.
Strong evidence exists for the State Government to
fund a service based on the Youth Connections model.
Youth Connections has achieved extraordinary
outcomes. Of those young people who participated in
Youth Connections in 2012:
–
–
93.4% were still engaged in education or
employment six months after receiving a
final outcome from Youth Connections.
Nearly 18 months after receiving a final
outcome, 80.2% were still engaged in
education or employment. The remaining
19.8% were either looking for employment
or engaged in carer roles for children or
30
other family members.
While the Council acknowledges the $3million in additional funding (over 3 years) provided to the
31
State Government’s CARE (Curriculum and Re-Engagement) Schools in the 2014-15 State Budget,
diversity of service provision is critical. The CARE School model has many strengths, but the model
only delivers services to those students still within the school system, to the exclusion of at-risk
young people who have already become disengaged or been excluded from school.
Providing funding for a proven program model such as this is low risk for the State Government, and
should be viewed as making a sound investment in Western Australia’s future.
Provide a holistic, caseworker-based model of support for young people who are at-risk
of disengaging from education and work. Cost: $7.5 million
30
Youth Connections (2014, March) Destination Study: Where are they now? Class of 2012, p.2.
WA Government Media (2014, 24 April) Media Release: Efficient delivery of quality services - State Budget
2014-15: $3million for schools for disengaged teenagers
31
ASK
The cost of incarceration is placing an increasingly larger burden on the State’s finances. This
financial year (2014-15), the budget estimate for providing youth justice and adult offender services
is $870 million. This cost is estimated to exceed $1 billion by 2016-17 (an increase of approximately
32
$500 million since 2007-08). This level of expenditure presents a significant opportunity for the
State Government to redirect spending towards the development and funding of evidence-based
strategies to decrease offending and recidivism rates.
The Council maintains its call for the establishment of an ongoing audit of mental illness, alcohol
and other drug problems, and other conditions that contribute to cognitive impairment (including
foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and acquired brain injury) among the prison population. There is
currently no system in place for the comprehensive collection of data on these issues within the
Western Australia prison population; and the data that are collected is rarely shared with those
organisations that could use it to determine service need outside the corrective services system.
The Council recommends the implementation of processes to maintain an ongoing audit of the
incidence of mental illness, alcohol and other drug problems, and other conditions of people within
the prison/detention population. Improved data collection processes are needed to accurately
identify and evaluate:
Which characteristics, factors or experiences are the strongest predictors of offending
behaviour resulting in imprisonment in WA
What opportunities there are to mitigate such factors through implementation of programs
or services that intervene as early as possible
The level of unmet demand for programs and services delivered within the WA corrections
system that contribute towards reducing recidivism rates
Which post-release supports and programs provide a cost effective means of reducing
recidivism.
This data collection and analysis process will be used to guide future State Government investment
in programs and services designed to increase community safety, and reduce government spending
on corrective services.
ASK
Establish a comprehensive, ongoing audit of the characteristics of adult and juvenile
offenders in order to inform and redirect service delivery. Cost: $16 million
32
Government of Western Australia (2014) 2014-15 Budget Statements, Budget Paper No. 2 Volume 2, p.748.
The Council’s research into the essential living costs of
low income households in WA clearly shows they were
increasingly left behind by the rapid pace of our
economy during the boom. Our latest economic
modelling of incomes and costs for these households
indicate that a
significant slowing of the WA economy has
33
yet to lead to any improvement in their dire financial circumstances.
While there is hope that the increase in rental vacancy rates for average and premium properties
will translate into some easing of rental costs for low income households in the coming year, we
have yet to see the full impacts on household budgets of the increases in state fees and charges
34
(together with predicted rises in local government rates) introduced in the 2014-15 State Budget.
Proposed Federal changes to welfare policies, together with the increasing inadequacy of income
support payments are also likely to increase the financial pressures on low income households and
the risk of financial crisis. It is in this context that we believe we should be focusing our efforts on
increasing the financial resilience of at-risk households in Western Australia.
Financial resilience refers to the capacity of individuals and families to cope with unexpected costs
and manage financial risks. An approach that seeks to build resilience, recognises the importance of
emergency relief and financial counselling responses to addressing hardship, and looks at how it can
build on these responses to address the underlying causes of financial crisis is required. The ultimate
purpose is to enable those at risk to be better able to meet their essential living costs and to
empower them to better manage their finances and commitments to achieve a modest standard of
living.
The aim of better integration of our financial hardship services is to shift from a revolving door
approach to one of greater prevention and transformative interventions. It is widely recognised that
better coordination and collaboration between services and organisations leads to better quality
resources. However, it is rare that resources are available to achieve the level and quality of the
coordination required to actually make a difference to vulnerable people.
Cost of living pressures in the WA community continue to drive increased demand for emergency
relief and financial counselling services to support people in financial hardship. In late 2012 the
Council undertook the first comprehensive research into the emergency relief sector in Western
35
Australia, revealing significant churn and cross-referral between emergency relief services, along
with high levels of unmet need. Front-line staff reported their frustration at their inability to address
the underlying causes of financial hardship.
The effectiveness of services provided to people in financial hardship relies on their ability to make
good referrals to services that support people to address the underlying causes of that hardship.
These causes are often complex and sometimes require multiple kinds of support. For this reason,
good information and appropriate referrals at the first point of contact are critical for reducing
assessment times and improving outcomes.
33
WACOSS (2014) Cost of Living Report 2014.
WACOSS (2014) WACOSS State Budget Briefing 2014.
35
WACOSS (2013) Emergency Relief Scoping Report: Giving Shape to the ER Sector.
34
Over the past two years the Council has been convening a roundtable of financial management
services including emergency relief, financial counselling, consumer credit, no/low-interest loan
providers, legal and tenancy advice services, utility services and relevant government agencies.
These services would benefit from an expanded network model based on the Emergency Relief (ER)
36
Sector Support Program to assist service providers to build and maintain strong, cohesive local and
regional networks. This approach would leverage existing support, including the Council’s existing
37
ER support program and tools such as DropIN , to establish a central point to share ideas, seek
information and access research.
ASK
Extend an innovative network model across financial management services to develop
shared assessment frameworks and enhance referral. Cost: $1 million
There is also increasing demand on financial counsellors as a result of the increased complexity of
debt experienced by low income households. Taken in combination with the cessation of Federal
funding in 2012, the reduction of 12 positions, and a 10 percent reduction in funding earlier this
year, this has resulted in very long waiting lists. The Council wishes to see the provision of these
services separated from the administration of the Hardship Utility Grants Scheme (HUGS) to allow a
greater focus on addressing underlying financial management issues to improve financial resilience.
Changes to HUGS to allow direct referral by utilities (referred to as ‘the second entry point’) have
not offset the impact of the loss of counselling positions and simply led to greater numbers of direct
grants. Recent further changes expanded the second entry point and limited financial counselling to
20 percent of the budget, but in the absence of effective data collection and assessment it is not
clear what impact this will have on demand. The Council recommends independent funding of
financial counselling services with a return of service delivery to at least 2012 levels.
ASK
Increase availability of financial counselling services. Cost: $1.5 million
Western Australia has a large number of concessions, many of which lack clear objectives and are
poorly targeted. Recurrent costs are high and projected to grow significantly, while the outcomes of
this investment are both inadequate and poorly defined. The total value of social concessions was
forecast to approach $860 million in 2013-14, with around 56 percent of these concessions (worth
38
about $480 million) targeted to seniors and pensioners.
According to the Council on the Ageing (COTA), concessions policy in WA “epitomises the lack of a
planned and coordinated approach to the ageing population.” The majority of our seniors
concessions are poorly targeted, providing inadequate support to aged pensioners experiencing
financial hardship, while delivering benefits to many who are not in need. With the proportion of
people aged over 60 expected to rise from approximately 17 to 21 percent by 2021, the number of
39
people eligible for the WA Seniors Card will continue to rise by around 10,000 per year.
The Economic Audit Committee report in 2009 noted that the management of concessions was
“highly dispersed and imposes high costs on government” in ways that “undermines financial
transparency and sustainability.” It recommended streamlining concessions, better targeting those
36
WACOSS (2014) Emergency Relief Sector Support Model.
Provided by WACOSS, and developed with the support by a Social Innovation Grant, DropIN is a free, online
community sector platform to support collaboration. For more information, visit www.dropin.org.au.
38
State Budget 2013-14, Budget Paper 3, p283.
39
Presentation to concessions roundtable held by Minister Tony Simpson by Department of Premier and
Cabinet, 17 June 2014.
37
in need, and consolidating their administration to a single point in government. Despite multiple,
reviews and recommendations over the last three decades little has been done to address this issue.
The Council urges the State Government to review and reform state concessions. The objectives
40
should be to maintain existing expenditure while making more effective use of it to achieve better
social outcomes; to ensure future expenditure growth is sustainable; and that concessions remain
adequate and effective into the future. The review should analyse existing concessions to ensure
each has clear objectives; review their design against national best practice design principles of
adequacy, equity, adaptability and transparency; and review their implementation against best
practice principles of accessibility, cost effective delivery, accountability and review.
The review also needs to consider the extent to which the system as a whole provides an adequate
and equitable response to need across our community. Existing gaps or opportunities include: lack
of transport concessions for refugees and humanitarian migrants; adequacy of transport
concessions for low income households on the urban fringe; and the opportunity to provide onceoff means-tested stamp duty exemptions to encourage seniors to downsize and free up
underutilised housing.
Undertake a public review of all state concessions to make more effective use of existing
investment to better target those most in need. Cost: $0 net
Increases in the cost of essential services impact disproportionately on disadvantaged households.
The cost of essential services represents a larger proportion of weekly expenditure for most lowincome households than for most of those on median and higher incomes, and current tariff and
concession structures do not adequately prevent vulnerable groups from experiencing financial
hardship and the risk of disconnection from services. Strategies to address utility hardship need to
focus on the most effective way to ensure low-income households remain connected and are able
to meet their utility costs and resolve outstanding debts.
There is considerable variation in power usage
across different kinds of low-income households,
depending on household make-up and the quality
and efficiency of their housing and appliances.
Larger low-income households, particularly those
with children, consume more electricity,
especially when in old housing stock of poor
quality and design. Households with children are
one of the groups hardest hit by recent tariff
increases, and Synergy consumption data indicate
they consume 14 percent more energy than the
41
average household.
’
Given this variation in power usage, a concession
that provides assistance directly related to the
level of consumption provides an efficient
strategy for mitigating financial hardship, while
still ensuring a clear price signal on consumption.
40
$860 million represents the forecast total value of existing social concessions provided by the State
Government. State Budget 2013-14, Budget Paper 3, p.283.
41
Tariff and Concessions Framework review, Office of Energy, 2011.
ASK
The Council proposes the introduction of a Concessional Tariff for low income households
experiencing utility hardship, set at 15 percent below the current domestic tariff and means tested
via the Commonwealth health care card and pensioner concession card.
While the WA electricity market is currently worth over $4.4 billion, the retail price of electricity is
the highest in Australia (35c/kWh compared to a national average of 25c/kWh). This suggests WA
consumers are paying around 29 percent or $1.2 billion more than our eastern states counterparts,
double the current operating subsidy of around $600 million in 2014-15. While our distribution and
network costs are comparable we pay significantly more for generation ($180 per MWh vs a
national average of $70 per MWh) and face a significant level of over-supply (with average usage of
42
only 35 percent).
The Council also calls for a moratorium on rises in electricity tariffs and charges for WA consumers
until market reforms ensure WA consumers are paying the efficient cost of electricity generation,
distribution and supply.
ASK
Introduction of a new 15 percent concessional energy tariff to provide proportional
assistance to those households whose higher essential energy needs put them at high
risk of utility hardship. Cost: $31 million
Western Australia is the only state in our nation where there is no funded consumer research and
representation in the regulation of its energy and water markets. We currently pay around 29
percent or $1.2billion more for our electricity than our counterparts in other states. The WA
electricity market is worth over $4.4 billion, our water market over $2.5 billion and our domestic gas
43
The cost of our energy and water is largely determined by regulatory
market $2.7 billion.
processes that assess the costs claimed by dominant market players in the absence of independent
analysis that subject these claims to scrutiny. The input of consumers is especially important in
markets that are not open and competitive, because there are few yardsticks for regulators to use
to arrive at fair prices and terms and conditions for access. With a combined market value of over
$9.6 billion even a small impact on price setting could result in savings of millions of dollars for
Western Australian consumers.
Consumer research and representation contribute to more effective market functioning by
improving the responsiveness of monopoly suppliers to consumer needs, enhancing the balance and
quality of regulatory decision making, and improving market transparency and competition through
consumer education. There are significant barriers to consumer input in energy and water markets
in WA, including the ability of monopoly and dominant providers to disregard the interests of
customers, and the sheer complexity of the issues involved. Customers have little incentive to
engage with these markets in WA due to the limited benefits to them personally and the high costs
of effective engagement. A modest level of funding for user representation (equivalent to 0.016
percent of total market value) will help to overcome these barriers to customer engagement, and
provide benefits significantly in excess of the cost.
ASK
Introduction of a levy on electricity, gas and water distributors and retailers to fund
consumer research and representation on behalf of residential and small business
consumers in Western Australia. Cost: $1.5 million
42
43
Public Utilities Office (2014) Electricity Market Review Discussion Paper.
Ibid.
Developing an effective, efficient and responsive service
system designed to meet the needs of families and
communities is critical and requires significant reform.
The existing service system of universal,
targeted and treatment services needs to be
reconfigured as an integrated and tiered
system of secondary and tertiary services, built
upon a strong base of universal and primary
44
service.
An effective service system should be able to identify those at risk sooner, enabling early
intervention that can prevent the development of disadvantage. This in turn can reduce the need
for more intensive support and the costs associated with lifetime service provision. As different
individuals and families need different levels of support at different times, it is important that there
are pathways from universal services to more targeted and intensive services, but also from those
services back to universal platforms. The conceptualisation of a continuum of services nested within
a universal approach is illustrated below:
Universal services, by definition, are available to the whole of the population, or put another way:
every child and every family is in scope. Strengthening access to universal services and developing
an efficient tiered system of targeted treatment services is critical for building an effective service
system and providing basic services to all children and families.
As Dr Stuart Shanker, the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s 2012 Thinker in Residence,
explained in his report:
It is crucial that the government builds on such important initiatives as the Child
and Parent Centres, and the additional 100 community child health nurses, and
makes these truly universal practices. It is understandable why in such financially
constrained times one should begin in a targeted manner, but the evidence is now
overwhelmingly clear that the returns, both immediate and long term, of making
44
NHS Health Advisory Service, 1995; Statham, 1997 cited in Centre for Community Child Health (2006) Policy
Brief: Services for your children and families: an integrated approach, p.3.
these practices universal are by far the most prudent investment that a
45
government can make.
Those with the greatest need are often the least likely to be able to access available services. In the
current service system, it is sometimes difficult for families to access the treatment and support
they need due to their ineligibility for treatment because of specific criteria and long waiting lists.
When treatment does become available, it is often too late, and the problem has become so serious
46
that change is harder and more costly to remedy.
Overarching strategic frameworks that underpin service planning, delivery and evaluation are
critical for building an effective service system. However, many services remain disjointed and
compartmentalised within different government departments. For example, in 2011 the Report of
the Inquiry into the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in Western Australia
identified that:
Fragmentation of parenting services is indicative of a broader issue for early
childhood services in Western Australia, in that there is no central agency or a
state-wide plan. Consequently, the implementation of care, education, health and
47
parenting services for children in their earliest years is relatively ad hoc...
To build an effective service system, we require overarching frameworks to engage children, young
people and their families with government agencies and community sector organisations that
support them in a common approach.
Greater collaboration and integration across services enable more wrap-around support to meet the
needs of individuals and their families. The State Government’s Partnership Forum Strategic
Directions 2014-15 includes in its Principles and Behaviours, specific commitments to delivering
outcomes, encouraging collaboration, working in partnership, sharing of data and information and
48
engaging service users in the design, planning and delivery of services.
This identifies a push for cultural change towards more effective integration and collaboration.
Integrated services are a critical component of an effective service system. Ultimately, the purpose
of service integration is:
…a unified and comprehensive range of services in a geographic area, where the
intent is to enhance the effectiveness of the delivery of services and optimise the
49
use of limited resources.
WACOSS supports the approach towards integration promoted by the Centre for Community Child
Health, and its emphasis on the process of establishing integrated services as a journey, requiring a
significant level of commitment from government, services and communities. While integrated
services cannot be achieved overnight, or without a significant amount of work:
45
Shanker, S. (2012) Report of the 2012 Thinking in Residence: Self-Regulation, Commissioner for Children &
Young People WA, p.20.
46
Moore, T. (2008) Rethinking universal and targeted services, Centre for Community Child Health: Working
Paper 2, p. 3.
47
Commissioner for Children and Young People (2011) Report of the Inquiry into the mental health and
wellbeing of children and young people in Western Australia.
48
Department of Premier and Cabinet (no date) Partnership Forum Directions 2014-15.
49
King and Meyer 2006, p. 476 in Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Siraj-Blatchford, J. (2009) Improving development
outcomes for children through effective practice in integrating early years services, London, UK: Centre for
Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services, p.16).
…the rewards of our collective efforts can create incredible opportunities for
50
babies, young children, their families and entire communities.
’
The Council recommends the development of a state-wide framework for the provision of universal
children’s services. Building on existing initiatives it is possible to make a significant start to
improving on our early childhood system.
A first initiative is already underway at a regional level. The Regional Community Child Care
Development Fund was established to support the
development of sustainable models of regional communitymanaged child care that meet the needs of families living in
regional Western Australia. It has a number of components
including the development of regional children’s services
plans. Non-government organisations have been awarded
funding through a tender process to develop these plans,
that will take into consideration education and care services
as well as broader services, initiatives and networks that
51
support families and children in their region.
’
Secondly, the Office of Early Childhood Development and
Learning, located in the Department of Education, should be adequately resourced to develop a
strategic framework that links all current projects into an early childhood development and learning
framework of education based initiatives. The current projects that fall under this framework could
include the Child and Parent Centres, the Indigenous Child and Family Centres, the early learning
centres and the 75 schools that are eligible for Early Years Grants.
Combining these two initiatives and developing metropolitan children’s care services plans would
create a state-wide framework for universal children’s services to improve service efficiency and
effectiveness and deliver better outcomes for children, families and communities.
Develop a state-wide universal children’s services plan by amalgamating existing
regional children’s plans, new metropolitan service plans and the proposed framework of
education based initiatives. Cost: $1.3 million
50
Prichard, P., Purdon, S., & Chaplyn, J. (2010) Moving Forward Together: A guide to support the integration of
service delivery for children and families, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, p.26.
51
A separate tender was led to develop the Strategic Framework and Mapping Format for Regional Children’s
Services Plans, which ensures consistency across the nine regions. This strategic framework also creates the
opportunity to address a critical gap – by using it to develop service plans for our metropolitan regions.
ASK
Western Australian Family Support Networks (FSNs) are an alliance of community sector services
and the Department for Child Protection and Family Support. They provide integrated and
coordinated secondary family support services to improve outcomes for
vulnerable children, young people and families and prevent the need
52
for tertiary child protection interventions. Starting in Armadale as the
innovation site, FSNs are now operating in Mirrabooka and the MidWest and proposed for Fremantle, with the Community Sector
53
Roundtable discussing other potential sites.
Families who require intensive support services can often find it difficult
to navigate the service system or are reluctant to engage. When
required, the FSN will actively reach out to connect with these families
and support them to access the services they need.
While FSNs are a relatively new initiative, an independent evaluation
has shown early evidence of positive outcomes for families through improved coordination and
integration of services and reduced demand on district offices of the Department for Child
54
Protection and Family Support.
An expansion of the Family Support Networks can provide integrated and coordinated secondary
family support services to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and families and
prevent the need for tertiary child protection intervention throughout WA. The Council is calling for
an expansion of FSNs with the ultimate goal to have one network operating in each of the DPCFS’
districts.
ASK
Expand Family Support Networks throughout WA to provide integrated secondary family
support services that improve outcomes and prevent the need for tertiary child
protection intervention. Cost: $4 million
52
For more information see Department for Child Protection (no date) Secondary Family Support State Plan
2010-2013.
53
The Community Sector Roundtable (CSR) is an advisory body that reports directly to the Director General,
Department for Child Protection and Family Support. The CSR provides advice and information that improves
outcomes and strengthens the relationship between the Department and the community services sector in
relation to the funding and provision of services.
54
KPMG (2013) Evaluation of the Armadale Family Support Network: Final Evaluation Report.
For over 12 months, significant planning processes have been underway across both the alcohol and
other drug (AOD) and mental health sectors in Western Australia. Consumers, family members,
community AOD and mental health service providers and their peak representatives have provided
55
significant contributions to the planning processes.
The Council welcomes the joint work undertaken by these sectors in the development of this plan.
Such working arrangements are important given the need for coordinated and integrated models of
care across the two sectors (and beyond), as well as the merger of the Mental Health Commission
and Drug and Alcohol Office. However, with regards to the merger, the Council echoes WANADA’s
concerns regarding the decision to name the merged organisation the “Mental Health Commission,”
56
as potentially being detrimental to the AOD sector and consumers.
It is hoped that the resulting 10-Year Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services Plan will
act as the blueprint for providing the optimal mix of mental health and AOD services for all Western
57
Australians over the next decade. With the Plan all but complete, it is time for the State
Government to ensure that the Plan is appropriately resourced to ensure the areas of current (and
forecast) need can be met.
Adequately resource the 10 Year Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services
Plan to improve life outcomes for those in need of support.
Cost: To be determined following launch of the Plan
ASK
Further to the need to adequately resource the 10 Year Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug
Services Plan, the Council also notes that the establishment of an Aboriginal-specific residential
rehabilitation service in the South West region remains a long-standing priority of the Western
Australian AOD sector. The sector has been advocating for the establishment of this service for over
a decade, and the need for the service has been consistently reinforced by consultations
undertaken by the State Government’s Drug and Alcohol Office. Funding to establish and run this
facility is long overdue.
There is clear evidence that community-based
residential treatment programs are successful, with
the completion of residential programs leading to
reduced drug use and criminality, significantly
improved psychological and physical health and
increased involvement in work, education and
training. Culturally-appropriate strengths-based
programs delivered by Aboriginal communitycontrolled organisations are the most effective means
of engaging with this at-risk population, and
completion of a residential program is the best
predictor of success.
Dedicate funding for the construction and operation of an Aboriginal-specific residential
AOD rehabilitation service in the South West region. Cost: $9 million
55
WA Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) & WA Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (WANADA).
WA Network of Alcohol and other Drugs (11 August 2014) “Mental Health Commission” A Backward Step
Says Alcohol and other Drug Sector, WANADA.
57
Mental Health Commission (2014) Western Australia's 10 year mental health plan.
56
ASK
The Western Australian Regional Investment Blueprint program outlines the shared vision and
strategic goals for the development of each region and the transformational strategies and
interventions required to deliver them. The Blueprints are intended to reflect the input from, and
have the endorsement of, all levels of government and the community; as well as clearly
demonstrate the roles of various State and Federal Agencies, Local Governments, community sector
organisations and the private sector in the regional execution of the strategy. However, the extent
to which social policy issues are addressed and local community services have been consulted
differs.
The Council calls for funding to enhance existing community service networks (and support new
ones) in the nine Development Commission regions to ensure social planning is a key part of the
Regional Blueprint process, as well as facilitate service collaboration and location-based responses
that improve the efficiency of service delivery to our towns and regions.
The Council’s regional consultations continue to highlight the challenges posed by gaps in service
coverage and capacity, and the limited resources available to deliver services to dispersed
populations in regional areas. Where there has been some dedicated capacity for regional
58
networking and capacity building or for the engagement of regional service providers in planning,
we have seen significant benefits. Therefore it is now timely to develop a regional community
services network that is adequately resourced to support network coordination, develop regional
planning policy capacity, and engage community service organisations in service planning and
coordination.
ASK
Support regional community sector networks to ensure social planning is a part of the
Regional Blueprints and facilitate service collaboration that improves service delivery.
Cost: $5 million
58
For instance, in the Peel and Midwest regions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Each year, the Council consults widely in preparing our Pre-Budget
Submission. Peak organisations and other key stakeholder representatives
from across the community services sector play a critical role in this process
by providing data and information about the key service pressures in the
community. We also appreciate input provided from government agencies.
We acknowledge the contributions and recommendations provided by the
organisations below:
Aboriginal Alcohol & Drug Service
Access Housing
Accordwest
Advocare
Aged & Community Services WA
Albany Youth Support Association
Allambee Counselling Inc
Alliance for Children at Risk
Alliance Housing
angelhands Inc
Anglicare WA
ARAFMI WA
ASeTTS
ATLAS
Australian Red Cross
Baptistcare
Bicycle Transport Alliance
Brightwater Care Group
Bridging the Gap
Brunswick Junction CRC
Byford Healing Arts
Calvary Youth Services Mandurah
Carers WA
Carnarvon Family Support Service
Catholic Archdiocese of Perth
Centacare Employment & Training
Centre for Social Innovation
Centrecare
Centrecare Southwest
Challenger Institute of Technology
Child and Adolescent Community
Health Service
Child Australia
Children, Youth & Family Agencies Association
City of Bunbury
City of Mandurah
CLAN WA
Colin Penter Consultancy
Communicare
Community Employers WA
Community First
Community Housing Coalition of WA
Community Legal Centres Association WA
Connect Groups – Support
Groups Association WA
Council on the Ageing WA
CPSU/CSA
Craig Edmonds Consulting Services
CREATE Foundation
Daydawn Advocacy Centre
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Department of Education
Department for Child Protection
& Family Support
Department of Housing
Department of Local Government
& Communities
Department of the Premier & Cabinet
Development Disability Council of WA
Disability Services Commission
Economic Regulation Authority WA
Equal Opportunity Commission
Fairbridge WA
Falcon Family Centre
The Family Planning Association of WA
Financial Counsellors' Association of WA
Finucare Financial Counselling
Foodbank
Foundation Housing
Fremantle Multicultural Centre
Fresh Start
Geraldton Regional Community
Education Centre
GP Down South
Greenfields Family & Community Centre
Headwest Brain Injury Association of WA
Health Consumers Action Group WA
Health Consumers' Council WA
Holyoake
Hope Community Services
Injury Control Council of WA
Jacaranda Community Centre
Lamp Inc
Leading Age Services Australia WA
Linkwest
MAN Healthier Directions for Males
Mature Adults Learning Association
Mental Health Law Centre
MercyCare
MIDLAS
Mid West Development Commission
Midwest Community Services Network
Midwest Men's Health
Mission Australia
National Disability Services WA
Ngala
Nidjalla Waangan Mia
Palmerston Association
PARK Mental Health
Parkerville Children & Youth Care
Pathways SouthWest Inc
Peel Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Peel Community Development Group
Peel Community Legal Services
Peel Development Commission
Peel Volunteer Resource Centre
People with Disabilities WA
Playgroup WA
Reconciliation WA
Regional Development Australia – Peel
Regional Development Australia – South West
Richmond Fellowship WA
Rise Network
Ruah Community Services
Save the Children Australia
SDF Global
Senior Citizen Welfare Association
Shelter WA
Shire of Murray
Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale
Short Term Accommodation for Youth
Social Ventures Australia
South Coastal Women's Health Services
South West Refuge
South West Rural Respite Services
St Bartholomew’s House
St Patricks Community Support Centre
St Vincent de Paul Society
Sussex Street Community Law Centre
Tenancy WA
The Salvation Army
Therapy Focus
Transition Management
Uniting Aid
UnitingCare West
Volunteering WA
WA Association for Mental Health
WA Network of Alcohol & Other Drug Agencies
WA Local Government Association
WA Women's Health Network
Wanslea
WARVRA
WestAus Crisis & Welfare Services
Wheatbelt CLC
Women's Council for Domestic
Family & Violence Services
Women's Health & Family Services
Yaandina Family Centre
YMCA
Youth Affairs Council of WA
Youth Focus
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